Due to tire blowout

Seven injured in crash on the Pyhrnautobahn

The rescue helicopter had to recover one seriously injured person.(Bild: Feuerwehr Gratkorn-Markt)

Late on Monday evening, a serious traffic accident occurred on the Pyhrnautobahn (A9) near Deutschfeistritz north of Graz. A tire blowout caused a rental car to be parked across the carriageway - a cab following behind crashed into it. Seven people were injured.

Shortly before 11 o'clock on Monday evening, a 51-year-old German man and his 50-year-old wife were traveling in a rental car on the A9 in the direction of Graz when the dramatic scenes occurred. A tire probably burst at the Deutschfeistritz freeway service area and the car skidded.

The violent collision resulted in total damage to the cars.(Bild: Feuerwehr Deutschfeistritz)

The car crashed into the crash barrier and came to rest across the carriageway in the first and second lanes. The two occupants were quickly able to escape from the vehicle. However, the car became a major hazard for following vehicles: a 54-year-old cab driver from Graz was unable to brake in time and crashed head-on into the rental car.

(Bild: Feuerwehr Übelbach-Markt)

He had four passengers on board (26, 28, 37 and 53), all of whom were injured. The 37-year-old even had to be rescued by a rescue helicopter with serious injuries. All the other passengers probably escaped with minor injuries. The police, Red Cross and three fire departments were deployed. The A9 was closed for around two hours in the direction of Graz.